Swinging volley

How come nobody teaches this shot? With enough practice, it's maybe not as difficult as some might think. I know the Williams sisters used to hit swinging volleys. Does anyone else at the top levels hit them? It does take more time and limits reach, but the ball accelerates and with topspin will fall into the court and give opponents little time to react as well. I hit a slice forehand volley but an aggressive swinging 2hander when I have time to. Do others with 2hand backhands do the same?

It isnt difficult. Just takes practice like anything else. It isnt taught because many coaches think this is only reserved for the competitive elite player. I say it isnt and should be taught like hitting a groundstroke or overhead.

Practice by standing around the baseline, and have someone feed you a mid court semi-lob. Then run up to it and hit it when the ball gets shoulder high.

Well the swinging volley did not hold up well last night against 2 hard hitting 4.0-4.5 level doubles players (1-6, 6-1, 6-3 doubles loss) but it does hold up well enough against most 4.0s. It takes too much time to turn, backswing and forward swing when the incoming ball is coming in too fast. Some day I will get serious about improving my backhand volleys, probably focusing on a conventional one-hander with a continental grip.

The two hander does work well when the incoming ball is slow and you can really swing through it and add pace and some topspin to the ball to put it away.

Venus, but not Serena, is hitting a lot of swinging volleys again in the last few matches I've seen on TeeVee. I consider the swinging volley to be a signature stroke of many counterpunchers. People are always asking how to play a pusher? Well, if pushers hit low speed groundstrokes, why don't people step inside the baseline more? This way, you are close enough to aggressively run up and whale away at floaters. This doesn't work so well against pushers who hit low slices, but it is killer against topspinning pushers. Turn those lazy, high % groundstrokes into dead ducks!

I do it with my one-handed backhand, I consider myself the inventor of the shot even though I'm sure I'm not. I've never seen anyone else do it, but hardly anybody I play with uses a one-hander to begin with. It's tough; especially considering that when i miss-hit the shot I catch it on the frame and break my strings.

My advice for swinging volleys in general is to go for it. I couldn't hit swinging volleys at all and I just started doing it whenever I had the chance (practice, not durring matches) and now I do it etter than anyone I play with. The main thing is that you have to hit through the ball as much as possible. My western, top-spin approach to hitting shots in general had to be adjusted otherwise it just wouldn't happen. The most important thing is that I got to the point where I see balls that I can take as a swinging volley and I do it without thinking about it. I think that's the thing about tennis in general, if you're indecisive then you're not likely to make the shot. It has to become natutal to your game to be successful.

Well the swinging volley did not hold up well last night against 2 hard hitting 4.0-4.5 level doubles players (1-6, 6-1, 6-3 doubles loss) but it does hold up well enough against most 4.0s. It takes too much time to turn, backswing and forward swing when the incoming ball is coming in too fast. Some day I will get serious about improving my backhand volleys, probably focusing on a conventional one-hander with a continental grip.

The two hander does work well when the incoming ball is slow and you can really swing through it and add pace and some topspin to the ball to put it away.

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Well part of knowing how to hit a swinging volley is also knowing WHEN to hit one as well. By practicing it you will gain an understanding on when to execute one in a match.

Yes, the key is to really go for it. When I get tentative with my swinging backhand I block the ball and pop it up and it often floats long or I frame it. But if I swing hard and through the ball it often ends up a winner or forces an error as it moves very quickly through the court. I have to push myself to stay aggressive with it, since I am usually a more defensive consistent style of player and hate making errors.

For some reason, I can hit it fairly well if I'm moving forward and get a sitter. I played baseball, and I think that gave me the timing to be able to hit this shot almost from the start. That's just me-hitting the weird shots well, and not hitting the BASIC shots all that great. But I don't use it all that much.

That being said, I DON'T think this shot should be taught-or almost never taught. Honestly, the worst thing Andre Agassi ever did for tennis is influence an entire generation of weekend hackers with his swinging volley. He couldn't hit a standard volley, so he basically pioneered this shot. It makes me CRINGE everytime I see someone slam a ball into the bottom of the net or halfway up the back fence with the swinging volley. This is a shot that is used, almost instinctively, by people who do not know how to VOLLEY, or just can't. Venus hits it great, but even SHE sometimes looks foolish. I would suggest to anyone looking to add this to their arsenal, to first learn the basic volley-including the footwork, and then, if they want, learn to S.V.

Yes it is a difficult shot that us two-hand BHers and ex-baseball players feel more comfortable hitting. I worked on my one-handed volley last night using the continental grip and hit some nice low solid volleys but then I wasn't switching grips quick enough when the balls came to my forehand side where I have a solid volley using an Eastern grip. I will keep working on that one hander though and switching grips or maybe try to learn how to volley all shots with the continental grip.